House GOP's 'govern by crisis' model is broken

By Justin Amash

Updated 9:13 PM ET, Sun October 4, 2015

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

John Boehner has been the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011, making him second in line for the presidency, behind the vice president. On September 25, Boehner told colleagues he's stepping down as speaker and will leave Congress at the end of October. Look back at his career in politics so far.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Pope Francis walks with Speaker Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden after delivering a speech to Congress in Washington on September 24.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani (right) expresses his country's gratitude for America's fiscal commitment and military sacrifices during an address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress with Vice President Joe Biden (left) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol March 25 in Washington.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Speaker of the House John Boehner as they depart the annual Friend's of Ireland luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner await the arrival of President Barack Obama for the State of The Union address on January 20 in the House Chamber of the Capitol.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

The image of the Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) is displayed in a monitor of a camera as he talks with reporters in his office in the Capitol in November 2014 in Washington.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner blasts conservative groups during a press conference in December 2013 after passing a compromise budget deal aimed at removing the threat of another government shutdown. Fed up with criticism from conservative advocates, Boehner said they were "misleading their followers." He followed up with: "Frankly, I just think that they've lost all credibility."

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Reporters question Boehner as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol as the government stalemate continued in October 2013. President Obama signed a bill on October 17 that ended the 16-day shutdown and raised the debt ceiling.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner speaks to the media after a meeting with President Obama at the White House in October 2013, the second day of the federal government's recent shutdown. The White House squared off with Republican rivals in Congress over how to fund federal agencies, many of which were forced to close, leaving a fragile economy at risk.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner is sworn in as the speaker of the House after his re-election in January 2013.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner presents golfing legend Arnold Palmer with the Congressional Gold Medal at a special ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol in September 2012.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

On January 5, 2011, Boehner wipes away tears as he waits to receive the gavel from outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, during the first session of the 112th Congress.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner hugs his wife, Debbie, after addressing the crowd at the NRCC Election Night watch party on November 2, 2010, when Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives. Boehner met his wife in college, and they have been married since 1973.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner voices his concerns about the health care reform bill championed by Obama during a news conference in Washington on October 29, 2009.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner, an avid golfer, talks with Tiger Woods while golfing at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2009.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner, center, looks on as President Barack Obama speaks with then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in the East Room of the White House on February 23, 2009. Boehner and Obama have butted heads over the years.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner, center, and fellow Republican House members sing Boehner's birthday song during a news conference on Capitol Hill on November 17, 2006. Boehner served as the House Minority Leader from 2007 to 2011.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner answers questions during an interview with Bloomberg in Washington on June 29, 2005.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

President George W. Bush signs into law the federal education bill No Child Left Behind at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2002. The law offered the promise of improved schools for the nation's poor and minority children and better-prepared students in a competitive world. Boehner, second from right, backed the bill.

Boehner dumps out coal, which he called a Christmas gift to President Clinton, during a news conference about the federal budget on December 21, 1995. Many government services and agencies were closed at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996 as a Republican-led Congress battled Clinton over spending levels.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner at a Capitol Hill news conference on February 6, 1995. He has had a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990. Before that he was a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives for six years.

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Photos:John Boehner's political career

Boehner, R-Ohio, holds a copy of the Constitution on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 7, 1992, as Sen. Don Nickles, D-Oklahoma, looks on. Both men proclaimed it was a historic day when the Michigan House ratified the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which would require that any Congressional pay raises not go into effect until after the next election.

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Story highlights

Justin Amash: John Boehner didn't fall for being insufficiently conservative; he didn't run the House correctly

Amash says promoting Kevin McCarthy to speaker is not a solution

Rep. Justin Amash is a Republican from Michigan. He is chairman of the House Liberty Caucus and a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

(CNN)Speaker John Boehner's announced resignation from Congress marks the inevitable fall of a speakership marred by internal Republican friction, raw partisanship and loss of influence for our great institution. And the next speaker will suffer the same fate unless he or she approaches the job entirely differently.

It's not that Speaker Boehner isn't conservative enough; it's that he fundamentally misunderstands the role of speaker of the House of Representatives. The speaker's first priority must be to defend the institution on behalf of all Americans. While the speaker may have a role in policy debates, that role cannot trump his obligation to uphold House process.

Rep. Justin Amash

By not keeping these priorities, Speaker Boehner has failed both as a policy leader and as an institutional leader.

Speaker Boehner and other Republican leaders have repeatedly favored a "govern by crisis" approach that abandons the regular order of the House. Despite having months to act before legislative deadlines, leaders routinely wait until the last moment to plot a course of action, publicly concede in advance major negotiating points, insist that Republicans have no alternatives, refuse to allow amendments and then criticize colleagues for not voting to avert the crisis leadership caused.

This approach produces constant frustration among representatives in both parties and promotes the partisan finger-pointing that angers Americans at home. Instead of making bipartisan compromises to address long-term issues, Congress constructs desperate, last-minute political deals to obtain the requisite votes simply to clear the immediate impasse.

In place of genuine reforms, Republican leaders inundate the public with meaningless show votes. These bills and amendments are often poorly drafted and not intended to become law, but rather to give representatives talking points to bash the other side in the media and in our districts.

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In this system, leaders make little effort to persuade congressional colleagues -- or the public -- on the merits of particular legislation. Significant outcomes are predetermined by a few leaders and their close allies, often with the backing of special interests that help write the bills. House rules, adopted by the entire body on the first day of each Congress, are regularly waived to bypass procedural hurdles. Votes for passage of legislation are corralled through fear and intimidation.

Republicans who vote against the wishes of leadership are punished -- leaders bury our bills in committee and urge PACs not to fund our campaigns. Leadership surrogates verbally attack Republican colleagues and, in some cases, actively support primary challenges against them, as they did against me in 2014.

Speaker Boehner and other leaders perpetuate the pay-to-play culture that permeates Capitol Hill, awarding chairmanships and committee spots on the basis of party fundraising, or as they euphemistically call it, "doing your work across the street" at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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With few legislative accomplishments to win public support, leaders depend on high-dollar fundraising to protect their majority and stay in power, and rank-and-file Republicans face increasing pressure to spend their days filling campaign coffers. At late-night conference meetings dealing with the latest legislative crisis, some members even lament that their time would be better spent raising campaign money.

It doesn't have to be this way.

With 435 members, the House of Representatives is meant to represent the interests of all Americans. Each district comprises roughly 700,000 people of diverse backgrounds and political beliefs.

The rules and organization of the House account for its inherent diversity and provide a means through which all ideas can be heard and the will of the people -- restrained by the Constitution and the sound judgment of each representative -- can prevail. But this happens only if leadership respects process. The institution is degraded -- partisan grandstanding proliferates and representatives lose trust -- if rules are followed only when convenient for leaders in the House majority.

With Speaker Boehner's resignation, we have a historic opportunity to change course for the better by electing a speaker committed to upholding the open process that allows the body to reflect the policy preferences of the people.

Under such leadership, there would be no secret deals or voice votes; legislation would move through the normal committee process; and all of us, regardless of party, would be given adequate time to read each bill and an opportunity to offer and vote on amendments.

This is how the House was meant to work -- not as an oligarchy, but as a deliberative body that respects the diversity of its membership.

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Under regular order, bipartisanship and compromise flourish. With control over the legislative agenda devolved to committees, subcommittees, and individual representatives, more liberal outcomes are possible, but so, too, are more conservative or libertarian outcomes. No one gets everything he or she wants, but under a fair, deliberative process, we all can respect the results. Most important, the outcomes more genuinely reflect the will of the people.

A mere reshuffling of current leadership won't work. That a promotion of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to speaker is being seriously discussed by leadership allies demonstrates how little they have learned from recent events.

When former Majority Leader Eric Cantor suffered an unprecedented defeat in his primary election last year, the visceral response from many of my colleagues was to advance the next person in line. The majority whip became the majority leader, but little else has changed.

It has been less than a year since the last game of leadership musical chairs, and dissatisfaction keeps growing. We cannot have more of the same. It's time to choose a speaker who will restore respect and order to the House so that we can once again govern as the Constitution intends.